Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Critique Muscles

Work that cerebral cortex!

You've heard of muscle memory, right?

Athletes will do an activity over and over again until their body automatically does something. They don't have to think about it, so they are able to focus on the bigger picture. They're not the only ones that use muscle memory though. We writers have it in our fingers if we type. My boys are amazed at how fast my fingers can fly over the keyboard. Even though it isn't always the highest accuracy, I still have good speed because I do it so much.

Do you exercise your critiquing muscles?

I've done some critiques with people along this writing journey, but it hasn't been regular. Lately I've had more opportunity to offer suggestions to people. I've found an online critique partner, and I'm participating in the ACFW critique email loop.

Even though having my work reviewed is a bonus to find those words and phrases I'm blind to, I think the greater benefit is getting to critique people.

I've been reading books on craft, quality novels, and blog posts for years now. I've assimilated a lot of knowledge. But nothing beats the application of knowledge to truly get it.

Now that I'm looking at other people's work and offering suggestions, I understand the reason for minimizing speaker tags. I see the flow of logic and the motivation/reaction unit so much better. By using it in other people's writing, I'm developing muscle memory in looking for these things.

The end result is that I'm then able to take it back to my own work and see weaknesses better.

Of course we're still going to have blind spots, but I'm amazed how things pop out at me more. It shouldn't be surprising. Practice makes perfect, right?

If you get a chance to participate in a critique group, remember that it benefits you in more ways than one. It's always good to help others and be a blessing when you are able, but you'll get more than other people's perspectives on your writing. Your perspective on your own writing will grow.